[Jeepersjoey]

Continuing my service of trying things that everyone says "That will never work" even though they have no proof...

The first was the mudflaps that EVERYONE said "The don't fit the M40i". But, I bought them and installed them. They look great! Front PN is 82162410525 and the rear PN is 82162410526. $141 on ebay.


I tried to drive through an Ice Storm in Nebraska last weekend and it went horribly bad. A little background...I lived in MN for many years and raced and ran SCCA ice racing dozens of times. I had a Honda CRX and Ford Focus. Both with Blizzak Winter tires. I have countless miles on snowy, icy, icky roads. I routinely drove my Goldwing to work (43 miles on highway) at temps to 18 degrees.

I am establishing that I am an expert ice & snow driver.

The stock 2018 19" Bridgestone Alenza tires are by far the WORST tires I have every used in snow and ice. Absolutely no traction. Really bad. I purchased a set of Blizzak rims & tires from Tire Rack and had them delivered to the Denver distribution center yesterday.


Tire Rack guaranteed they would fit. I bought 18" rims and 225/60/R18 tires. They clear the brakes!

18" tires fit the 2018 m40i!










Total Cost: $1800
Rims: Sparco Pro Corsa 18x8" 5x112 spacing with +35 offset. $195.58 each ($782.32)
Tires: Bridgestone Blizzak DMV2 225/60/R18. $172.79 each ($691.16)
TPW: 433 Mhz. $56.00 each ($224.00)
Black TPMS Value Stems. $2.99 each ($11.96)
CO Sales Tax: $127.94
Pickup Discount: $80.00
Bridgestone Mail-in Rebate: $70.00
Stock lug bolts (black) fit.

Download the invoice: Tire Rack Receipt.pdf

Here they are in all their frozen and dirty glory!


















You are welcome. Now, go buy em from Tire Rack!
Paul

[arciga18]

I've posted this before in various threads.

Bmw says their 18" wheels do not fit the m sport brakes. The bmw genius phone rep said it wouldn't clear .


Bmw website is confusing because it shows 225/60/18 winter sets for m40i. Even if they do fit im not really interested to run 7" wide time.

We knew that 18" wheels could clear the brakes, just depends on the barrel and spoke design .



All that aside, I think that your set looks great. Nice meaty tire. Tires are cheaper to in general

[teaston]

As arciga says, it depends on the barrel and spoke design, some will fit, some won't, far simpler for BMW to say 18's won't fit than trying to establish which will and which won't!

[verysideways]

BMW Germany say the 19" 691's are the minimum requirement for the X3 M40i - if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for me (and my insurance company).

You guys in the 'States have a much easier time adding aftermarket wheels and stuff without the insurance issues some of us have over here in the UK and Europe. And you have so much more choice on aftermarket wheels too!

[spangle1980]

Nice write up though - top job sir!!

Simply lovely :-)

[Jeepersjoey]

Valid point on the style of rims.

I did talk and get an email from people at Tire Rack. The reason I ordered was that they said that they would absolutely take them back...and "thank you for finding our error".

I was like "Sold!"

Paul
P.s. thanks for the words. Yea, I am pretty happy. Now to see what it does to my 0-60 launch control with that much grip!

[teaston]

Originally Posted by Jeepersjoey

Valid point on the style of rims.

I did talk and get an email from people at Tire Rack. The reason I ordered was that they said that they would absolutely take them back...and "thank you for finding our error".

I was like "Sold!"

Paul
P.s. thanks for the words. Yea, I am pretty happy. Now to see what it does to my 0-60 launch control with that much grip!

You mean that little grip

[Deliberate2]

Paul, how does the set-up drive? I live in Maine and, with my Audi S5, went -1 fitment from stock 19" to 18" snows (Blizzaks). Going to the 18" with the M40i would be a -2 or even -3 if you are running 20" or 21" stock set-up.
Cheers for your efforts.

[skier219]

Originally Posted by Jeepersjoey

Continuing my service of trying things that everyone says "That will never work" even though they have no proof...

The first was the mudflaps that EVERYONE said "The don't fit the M40i". But, I bought them and installed them. They look great! Front PN is 82162410525 and the rear PN is 82162410526. $141 on ebay.

If you post some close up pictures of the flaps on your M40i, with particular attention paid to the rear edges of the flaps where they mate up against the wheel arches, I will add some arrows/comments showing where there is a mismatch -- this is due to the faceted surface of the M40i wheel arches compared to the flat surface of the 30i wheel arches (which the flaps are shaped for). I think for some people the flaps will be just fine on an M40i, but others might not like the fit.

[teaston]

Originally Posted by skier219

If you post some close up pictures of the flaps on your M40i, with particular attention paid to the rear edges of the flaps where they mate up against the wheel arches, I will add some arrows/comments showing where there is a mismatch -- this is due to the faceted surface of the M40i wheel arches compared to the flat surface of the 30i wheel arches (which the flaps are shaped for). I think for some people the flaps will be just fine on an M40i, but others might not like the fit.

The 30i & M40i arches are identical! :

[skier219]

Originally Posted by teaston

The 30i & M40i arches are identical! :

No they are not -- the stock arches on the 30i have a flat face while the M40i (or 30i with M-sport package) is faceted. You can see this in pictures and it's very obvious in person.

[doulik3]

Just wondering in another thread some people were posting about the load rating on tires. Any concerns? 105 vs 100

[PaulE]

Originally Posted by skier219

No they are not -- the stock arches on the 30i have a flat face while the M40i (or 30i with M-sport package) is faceted. You can see this in pictures and it's very obvious in person.

We have 2 2019 X3's in our garage. One is my X3 M40i and the other is my wife's X3 30i. I haven't looked closely, but at a glance the wheel arches look identical but the M40i has body colored painted arches and the 30i has unpainted black plastic. I am going to take a closer look tonight when I get home and see if I can spot the differences in contouring. The mudflaps might be interesting to me, but my car isn't black it's Phytonic Blue, so I'll have to think about the look of the black, I'm not going to the trouble and expense of getting them painted.

[yllwwgn]

Originally Posted by skier219

If you post some close up pictures of the flaps on your M40i, with particular attention paid to the rear edges of the flaps where they mate up against the wheel arches, I will add some arrows/comments showing where there is a mismatch -- this is due to the faceted surface of the M40i wheel arches compared to the flat surface of the 30i wheel arches (which the flaps are shaped for). I think for some people the flaps will be just fine on an M40i, but others might not like the fit.

Would you mind sharing visually where the flaps don't line up? From OP's pictures it appears like they might, or might not be noticeable enough to see anyway. Thanks for the help!

[skier219]

Originally Posted by PaulE

We have 2 2019 X3's in our garage. One is my X3 M40i and the other is my wife's X3 30i. I haven't looked closely, but at a glance the wheel arches look identical but the M40i has body colored painted arches and the 30i has unpainted black plastic. I am going to take a closer look tonight when I get home and see if I can spot the differences in contouring. The mudflaps might be interesting to me, but my car isn't black it's Phytonic Blue, so I'll have to think about the look of the black, I'm not going to the trouble and expense of getting them painted.

You might need a stronger eye prescription. I have held off googling and explaining for you guys, but here you go:

[skier219]

Originally Posted by yllwwgn

Would you mind sharing visually where the flaps don't line up? From OP's pictures it appears like they might, or might not be noticeable enough to see anyway. Thanks for the help!

I am hoping the OP posts better pictures as I don't have the flaps myself -- I decided not to buy them for my M40i after a dry fit at my dealer. All I did was place the flaps on an X30i model and M40i model and it was obvious why they weren't a perfect fit on the M40i. I am certain some people won't mind / won't notice / will make them fit.

[Jeepersjoey]

Hey all!

Just saw this. Sorry for the delay. It is dark now and cannot take the best pics.

I went into the garage and took a dozen pics using a bright shop light. Too late to post. So, I will give you the verbal summary.

There is a 0.2mm gap on the bottom edge of the front flap (btw...that is about the thickness of a dime). I then turned around and measured the OEM mudflats on the 2014 Subaru Forester. That one has a 0.1mm gap along the entire mounting surface.

If that small of a gap bothers you than you also probably get really annoyed when you lose your count as you brush your hair each night. One, two, three, four...oh look a squirrel. Crap! One, two...

Ha! I am an Engineer and I currently work FDA Medical Regulatory. I am not even that picky!

Paul

P.s. I will post a bunch of pics in the next few days once I get a chance. But, I will do it in another post and then send you a link to it. Stay tuned!

[PaulE]

Originally Posted by skier219

You might need a stronger eye prescription. I have held off googling and explaining for you guys, but here you go:

My prescription is up to date, I just never looked at the unpainted lips on my wife's 30i that closely. I took a look last night and you were right. I didn't say you were wrong, I said I was going to take a look. Anyway, I'd like to see some closeup pictures of how the 30i flaps sit on the 40i to see if it's worthwhile.

[No1Cares]

glad to see this has been an idea reinforced with your experience via tire rack! I am about to order some 18" for winter with 225/60/18. I was mainly concerned about the offset. glad to see 35 works great. thanks for the input! ps your winter set up looks great!

[shoptb]

Originally Posted by Casotakar

glad to see this has been an idea reinforced with your experience via tire rack! I am about to order some 18" for winter with 225/60/18. I was mainly concerned about the offset. glad to see 35 works great. thanks for the input! ps your winter set up looks great!

That's what I've got (from TireRack) and they look/fit great.

[Rox335i]

I have 18s on my x6 for the winter. Tire size is 285 tho.

[Mr. Hankey]

Hey All, sorry to thread jack but thoughts on the M40i's ability in snow with proper snow tires?

I live in Northern New England and have had Toyota 4Runner and Sequoia for winter but looking for something smaller and sportier. Don't have the option of staying home from work no matter how much snow. In past 7 years have had to lock differentials to get unstuck 2 times...should I not even be considering one of these?